¹Ibisiki, Tamuno-ose Godwill,² Eyenghe, Tari

¹,²Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt

DOI : https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v4-i11-24

Google Scholar Download Pdf
ABSTRACT

The study assessed substandard housing contributory factors of neighbourhoods in Port Harcourt municipality, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to identify factors that are contributing to substandard housing in Port Harcourt municipality; assess the impact of contributory factors to substandard housing in the study area; and identify physical planning measures to improve substandard housing in the study area. The study employed quantitative research approach and experimental research design for collection and analyses of data in the study. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used for collection of data. Slovin formula was used to determine the sample size and a total of 399 respondents (households) were interviewed from three grouped neighbourhoods and communities (planned neighbourhoods, indigenous enclaves and waterfront communities). The revealed the contributory factors to substandard housing in the study area are low income, large household size, multiple households in a building, limited habitable rooms per household, building construction materials, rapidly deteriorating physical condition of buildings, and sharing of facilities by households in buildings. The study also revealed the impacts of these factors include urban neighbourhoods and communities are deteriorating into slum and squatter settlements and rapid defacing of the urban fabrics and landscape. The study makes the following recommendations to improve housing standards including regular physical assessment of buildings in the study area to ascertain their fitness for habitation; waterfront environment should be reclaimed and planned by government for residents’ easy accessibility and affordability; development control agencies should ensure residential buildings are developed according to approved plan and specifications; mortgage and financial institutions should grant soft and interest-free loans to low-income earners and the poor; government should prioritise the development of low-cost houses for low-income earners and poor citizens; social amenities and services should be provided to enhance housing and neighbourhood quality; and government and its agencies of urban development and physical planning as a matter of urgency carry out spatial reorganisation through urban renewal programmes and projects at various neighbourhoods and communities.

KEYWORDS

Urbanisation, Substandard Housing, Contributory Factors, Neighbourhoods, Port Harcourt Municipality

REFERENCES

1) Angel, S. (2000). Living homes Policy Matters: A Global Analysis. London, UK: Oxford University Press.

2) Cockburn, J.A. (2001). Official Registration (Formalization) of Property in Peru (1996-2000). Paper Presented at the ESF NAERUS International Workshop on Coping with Informality and Illegality in Human Settlements in Developing Cities.

3) Eyenghe, T. & Wokekoro, E. (2020). Environmental Condition Determinants of Neighbourhood Quality in Urban Communities in Yenagoa City, Nigeria. Journal of Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities, 6(3), 116-128.

4) Eyenghe, T., Williams, G.I. & Tobi, D.S. (2019). Assessment of Socio-Economic Impacts of Squatter Settlements of Bundu and Nembe Waterfront Communities in Port Harcourt Municipality. RA Journal of Applied Research, 05(02), 2298-2304. DOI: 10.31142/rajar/v5i2.03

5) Eyinla, O. (24th August, 2020, Premium Times). Nigeria: Overcoming Nigeria’s Huge Housing Deficit. Retrieved 12th May, 2021 from https://allafrica.com

6) Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) (2006). National Building Code. Abuja. Nigeria: Federal Government of Nigeria.

7) Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) (2004). National Housing Policy Draft. Abuja, Nigeria: Federal Ministry of Works and Housing.

8) Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) (1992). The Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law, Decree No. 88 of 1992. Abuja, Nigeria: Federal Government Press.

9) Ibimilua, A. F. (2011). The Nigerian National Living Homes Policy in Perspective: A Critical Analysis. Journal of Social Development in Africa, 26(2) 165-188.

10) Law Insider (2021). Substandard Housing Definition. Retrieved 12th August, 2012 from https//www.lawinsider.com.

11) National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) (2016). General Household Survey – Panel Wave 3 (Post Planting) 2015-2016. Abuja, Nigeria: National Bureau of Statistics.

12) National Population Commission (NPC) (2018). NPC Puts Nigeria’s Population at 198 Million. Retrieved 27th May, 2021 from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/04/npc-puts-nigerias-population-198m/

13) National Population Commission (NPC). (1991). 1991 Population Census Report of Nigeria. Lagos, Nigeria: Federal Government Press.

14) Nnah, W.W. (2006). Development Control in Rivers State: What Prospects in the New Millennium? Paper at the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners Stakeholders Conference for Developers. Port Harcourt.

15) Pinault, N. (2019). Rapid Urbanization Presents New Problems for Africa. Retrieved 12th May, 2021 from https://www.voanews.com

16) Rivers State Government (RSG) (2003). Rivers State Physical Planning and Development Law No. 6 2003. Port Harcourt, Nigeria: Rivers State Government Press.

17) United Nations (UN), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). The Speed of Urbanization Around the World. Retrieved 12th May, 2021 from https://population.un.org

18) United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) (2020). Housing. Nairobi, Kenya: UN-Habitat. Retrieved 18th August, 2021 from https://www.unhabitat.org

19) Wokekoro, E. (2009). A Comparative Analysis of Living Homes Dereliction in Residential Neighbourhoods in Port Harcourt and Its Implication for Environmental Quality. The Nigerian Journal of Environmental Sciences, 3(1), 395-417.

20) Zainal, N.R., Kaur, G., Ahmad, N.A. & Khalili, J.M. (2012). Housing Conditions and Quality of Life of the Urban Poor in Malaysia. Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences, 50, 827-838. DOI:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012,08.085

VOlUME 04 ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2021